Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail)
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There were people in jobs and high-profile cases where people were suing RTÉ for what it said about them. Effectively, those people were being incentivised in junior roles to do tasks that borderline met the regulations. They were very much focused on the bottom line at the time. That culture has significantly changed. It is not necessarily Mr. Crowley's job to change it but we have had Insurance Ireland before the committee as the face of the insurance industry and Mr. Crowley is before the committee effectively as the face of the entire financial services sector. From his industry's perspective, he will have a job selling it to the wider public that he is on their side and is there for, dare I say it, the little old lady who goes to the bank to lodge coins or present a cheque of a Tuesday morning. They comprise a significant number of people. They may not be the most important people in respect of a bank's profitability but in terms of the people that we all represent they are important and sometimes they feel excluded by some of the banks' activities, particularly the retail banks in the way they have changed how they operate. Equally, I take on board that many people are happy to be able to make payments online.

It is difficult for Mr. Crowley. On one side he is representing the banks and I do not doubt that he wants to work with the banking board, represent the industry and so on. Equally there is a certain reticence in his points about needing to get the balance correct between a clear focus on customers and potentially being over-bureaucratic. There is a need to ensure it does not hinder the attraction of talent.

I remember a famous interview with a former chief executive of Anglo Irish Bank who suggested regulation was a great idea but it should be light-touch regulation. I am sure it has been repeated many times on RTÉ at this stage. I am not suggesting Mr. Crowley is of the same demeanour, but there is a certain amount of proceeding slowly and teasing it all out. When will this take effect so that people can see somebody as being accountable?